Inaugural event begins with Pro-Am
Fall Classic under way at Uniontown C.C. Since they “stitched well together,” it was only natural that they should sew up the one-two places.
Play got under way Wednesday in the inaugural Uniontown Pro-Am Fall Golf Classic at the Uniontown Country Club with 30 foursomes competing, and the issue was not settled until the 28th team reported in.
Teams consisted of two professionals and two amateurs with team scoring based on best ball of four, and for the pros, it was best ball of two. Handicaps were figured in for the amateurs, while the pros played straight scoring.
For a while, it looked like the foursome of pros Larry King (Wildwood Golf Club, Middletown, Ohio) and Pat Delaney (Sugar Hill Golf Club, Westfield, N.Y.) with amateurs William McHugh and Larry Zebley were in free with a 50, the card including a “first ever” for Zebley.
But then the No. 28 team of pros Scott Dietrich (Greenwich, Ct., Country Club) and Tom Sutter (Chelsea Piers, New York, N.Y.) with amateurs Fay Ann Kikta and Floyd Cardenas finished one stroke under them with a 22-under-par 49.
Kikta, who is also Senior Women’s Champion of the host club, had two birds in her score, while her partner Cardenas had “no birds, but I did have five pars.”
Cardenas said, “Everybody stitched together real well, and that led to our success. I hit most of the greens in regulation and had mostly one- and two-putt greens. I did drop one long putt for a par four, about 30-feet on the seventh. There were several times I was putting for birds, but just couldn’t get the putts to drop.”
Kikta, who was “scoring under 40 on both nines for the first time,” had a 38-37 and 75 without a handicap. Her card did include two birds on 14 (466-yard, par 5) and 17 (310-yard, par 4).
On the 14th she “had a real good drive, then put a five-wood short of the green, a sand wedge about 12 feet from the cup and got the putt for a bird. On the 17th, I had a great drive, hit a five-wood about 150 yards to the edge of the green, and dropped a 40-foot putt for the bird.”
Kikta “hit straight drives and putted well, mostly one and two putts, but I did have two greens where I three-putted. I had a double-bogey on two (150, 3), where I had a 12-foot putt and tried to push it in for a bird, but missed and ended up with a double bogey. On the 16th (364-yard, par 4), I had a 30-foot putt for bird, but missed, then two-putted coming back.
“The nice thing was, the pros in our foursome were very nice, they encouraged us all day.”
Earlier, the No. 14 team of pros King and Delaney and amateurs McHugh and Zebley came in with their 50 card, and it looked like they might make it stand. The team overall had a 50, while King and Delaney were the pro-pro leaders for the day with a 60, one-stroke ahead of the 61 posted by Dietrich and Sutter.
McHugh and Sutter used the same formula for second place as the winners did for first, McHugh noting, “We went together very well today; we stitched together very well with our pros. They (King and Delaney) were putting for birds most of the day, and because of that we could play more aggressive. It was just an all-around, enjoyable day for all of us.”
McHugh added, “One very big point for us was when Bill chipped in for a bird on the 17th (366-yard, par 4).”
Zebley said, “I did something today that I have never done before on a golf course – shot three consecutive birdies. The field was starting at both the first and 10th tees, and we started at the 10th. On the 17th, I had a good drive, my second shot went about 15 yards to the right of the green, but then I chipped in for a bird. On the 18th, (163-yard, par 3) I hit my drive 10-feet, three inches, from the cup, and the reason I know that, is because I measured the shot. The amateurs were competing for a television set, going to the golfer with the shot closest to the pin, which we had to measure.
“Then I got a bird on number one (301-yard, par 4) to complete the three-run. I chipped from 20-yards out, to within 12-feet of the pin and got the putt. I also had birds on eight (516-yard, par 5) and 10 (284-yard, par 4). On eight, I had a real good drive, then a five-wood about 230 yards to the front of the green and chipped on for a three-foot putt. On 10, I had a good drive, then about a 40-yard sand wedge shot to the green for a three-foot putt.”
Zebley added, “I made more putts today than I usually make. As a rule, my putter isn’t always too good, but today it was there. Our two pros were very enjoyable to play with and they made for a good day. Bill and I know each other anyway; we play together a lot and we know each other’s moves on the course, and the two pros made things just that much better.”
McHugh had birds “on seven (301-yard, par 4) and 14 (466-yard, par 5). On seven, I had a good drive, about 40 yards short of the green, then a sand wedge to a foot from the cup. On 14, a short par five, my five-iron second shot was over the green, but I chipped back on for a three-foot putt. I made par on 13 (457), a real tough par four, with a good drive, a five-iron to the green and a two-foot putt.”
Competition will be Pro-Pro today and Friday.